Amazon.comSeemingly growing more content with his outsider status with each new release, former Sony great white hype Garrett "G. Love" Dutton appears in no hurry to update his band's back-porch hip-hop-and-blues sound. On his fifth studio album with Special Sauce--bassist Jim Prescott and drummer Jeff Clemens--themes of positivity and spiritual satisfaction remain at the fore, while the laidback grooves sound more effortless than ever, particularly on the '70s-drenched title track and the tender "Sara's Song." There is a breezy nod to Bob Marley on the ska-inflected "Praise Up," and "Night of the Living Dead" features a fractured falsetto vocal, but major diversions are rare on Electric Mile, an album that is virtually interchangeable with the trio's self-titled 1994 debut. And that's no bad thing. --Jaan Uhelszki